Four civilians killed in bombing in Helmand as vote audit is stopped for upcoming Eidul Fitr holidays
Gunmen intercepted two minibuses travelling through central Afghanistan and killed at least 14 passengers overnight while a bomb blast in southern Afghanistan killed four civilians Saturday, as a recount in the country’s presidential election halted before a major holiday
Local officials in the remote, mountainous province of Ghor said most of the passengers were from the ethnic Hazara Shia minority, but that could not be independently verified.
“The insurgents stopped two vans and after checking peoples’ identifications cards, they separated 14 passengers from 32 others and shot them dead,” said provincial governor Sayed Anwar Rahmati.
At least three women and a three-year-old child were among those killed.
Sediq Sediqqi, an Interior Ministry spokesman, accused Taliban insurgents of carrying out the attack, saying it was “aimed at instilling fear in the people”.
The Taliban denied involvement.
“The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns the killings and will try to find and punish the perpetrators,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a text message to a foreign news agency.
Many of the Hazaras – believed to be descended from Mongol invaders – suffered enormously under Taliban rule and the Shia minority saw many of its communities leveled.
Many were killed and buried in mass graves or thrown into wells. They still believe they are treated as second-class citizens and that President Hamid Karzai has done little to improve their lot.
BOMBING KILLS FOUR, VOTE AUDIT STOPPED:
Meanwhile, a bomb bomb hidden in a motorcycle killed civilians in Marjah district and wounded four others, said Omer Zwak, a spokesman for the governor of Helmand province.
Meanwhile in Kabul, Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission stopped a recount in the runoff presidential election. Commission chairman Ahmad Yousuf Nouristani told reporters that the recount will resume later next week after celebrations marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramazan.
Unofficial and disputed preliminary results of the June 14 runoff election showed former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai well ahead of his rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.
But since fraud was alleged on both sides, a deal negotiated by US Secretary of State John Kerry provides that every one of the 8 million ballots will be audited under national and international supervision over three or four weeks.